I was talking to my friend about the Toyota Mark-X Gio and how it got introduced in the NA market under the "Venza" name,how its a "segment buster" and whatnot until we realized that "venza" sounds like "toilet seat（benza/便座)"in japanese....

C'mon Toyota. You could have given it a better than that.

 

You mean Mark X Zio? It is not the same car, and Venza does not mean toilet seat in English, so I dont see what the problem is?

 

Vencer in Spanish means to overcome or to conquer.


Venza therefore translates to (it) conquers.


Toyota sometimes uses Spanish words. For example, Corolla means small crown (because Camry is derived from Kanmuri, which is crown in Japanese).


Ahhh... Foreign languages...

 

The Venzas are at the dealer now and I'm really impressed. Great looking interior and I like the exterior except for all the chrome look around the grill. It drives much like a current RX350 except that it seems much faster. My guess without looking at the specs is that it is lighter than the RX and has the 6 speed auto. The one here is a loaded FWD (not a lot of demand for AWD in Tucson) and it stickers for $37K which puts it about $10K cheaper than the reported price for the 2010 RX. This might be my next car!

It is a funny name, but Camry didn't make any sense when it was introduced about 2 million cars ago.

Steve

 

I agree, it's an interesting vehicle. Even in the midwest, I'd prefer the lighter weight and better fuel efficiency of the FWD. With VSC/TRAC I'd be good to go year round.

 

Venzo = I conquer, Vence = it conquers.

Venza as a spanish translation could only exist as a subjunctive.

Just saying.....

 

Toyota has said that the name Venza is a combination of venture and Monza.

 

As others have said, the Venza is a product that was designed and dedicated for the North American market so it is not a rebadge, and I'm guessing that they didn't really consider what it sounded like in Japanese (considering that it will never go there).

Now, check out what "LaCrosse" means and why Buick had to rename it for Canada.

 

I could have sworn small crown was "coronita"

 

I drove it at the LA Autoshow last month. Its not that bad of a car. It reminded me of the RX but not at the same time. Their 4cyl model they had for us to drive was horridly slow though....

 

umm i've never heard the word, benza used in japan... benjo yea. Could benza be a dialect from some prefecture?

 

Better hit those books again hey bud. Benjyo and benza are completely different meanings. Benjyo basically means what we would call the "bathroom" , benza on the other hand means "toilet seat", the actually toilet seat that you sit on. So no, it is not some form of houben, as it is used quite a lot.

And Coco-bun, I agree it sounds real bad!!!

 

I loved the venza. I thought it was one of the most surprising cars at the LA auto show for me. I loved it in the hardcore SEMA show form with the 24" wheels and the lowered suspension. If it means toilet seat its because toyota will be ****ting on the competition with it . LOL Its a great vehicle.